


Not While I'm Around

by CSIGurlie07



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-30
Updated: 2012-05-30
Packaged: 2017-11-06 07:33:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/416319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CSIGurlie07/pseuds/CSIGurlie07
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>We know Ashley had nightmares as a child. What we don't know is how Magnus eased her fears. This is my take on it. Oneshot. Songfic. Spoilers for End of Nights.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not While I'm Around

_Disclaimer: Only the plot is mine. Sanctuary belongs to Stage 3 Productions and the song belongs to Stephen Sondheim._

There was a ritual that was followed, those nights when Ashley appeared in her bedroom during a thunderstorm, or when Helen's come back particularly bruised from a mission. She would hear soft little footsteps padding into her bedchambers, and she would open her eyes to tearful blue eyes and soft blonde hair.

And then, without a word, she would open the covers for her, and Ashley would climb into the bed and into her arms. Once there, sometimes, Ashley would tell her what had scared her, but sometimes, she wouldn't, and Helen would simply hold her.

Before long, she would sing her comfort to the trembling little girl, in the one song that would never fail to assuage tiny fears of monsters and abandonment.

_Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around.  
Nothing's gonna harm you, no sir, not while I'm around._

In a voice soft, but clear, the words would pour from her lips like so much honey, brightening the dark night for one young daughter. Helen blamed George the groundskeeper for Ashley's familiarity with Sweeney Todd, but never got around to reprimanding him. Ashley loved it, and it was the only lullaby she ever requested. Eventually, Helen was trained to sing it as a matter of course.

_Demons are prowling everywhere, nowadays,  
I'll send 'em howling,  
I don't care, I got ways._

They both knew the truth of the words, the horrors that resided even within their very walls, in the bowels of the SHU.

When Ashley had been born, her priorities had shifted. She'd even abused her position, and sent some of the more volatile and dangerous Abnormals to other Houses, even when the one in Old City was the best equipped to handle them. She'd been unable to shake the what-ifs of system failure and escaped Abnormals roaming free in the same hallways her baby girl frequented. Helen knew what her choice would be, if she had to choose between one of her subjects, should they ever get loose, and her daughter.

She would kill each and every one of them, to keep her little girl safe.  
 _  
No one's gonna hurt you,  
No one's gonna dare.  
Others can desert you,  
Not to worry, whistle, I'll be there._

Ashley always said she liked the way the song sounded, coming from Helen's accented tongue. Of course, the words were written for a street urchin she wouldn't have come within ten feet of, once upon a time, and the song itself pulled the twisted dialect from her lips against her will—sometimes, it drew a smile from Ashley.

Sometimes, Helen smiled too.

_Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while,  
But in time...  
Nothing can harm you  
Not while I'm around..._

Even then, that promise had been broken. By that point, Ashley had broken her first bone—a fractured femur, earned in a challenge with Henry to see who could climb the farthest up the North Wall. And she'd already required stitches under her chin from a misjudged tumbling move, and a brace for a sprained wrist after an overzealous karate lesson.

But true to every child's nature, Ashley had always bounced back, bouncing with excitement and energy at her renewed freedom from temporary medical restrictions.

It was always just a matter of time before she would be back in the infirmary to get patched back up.

_Not to worry, not to worry  
I may not be smart, but I'm not dumb.  
I can do it. Put me to it. Show me somethin I can overcome.  
Not to worry, ma'am._

Ashley always said she wished she were as smart as her mom. Not anywhere Helen could always overhear, of course—that would have given her enough ammunition to enforce more study time instead of play time. But Barney had mentioned several times that the little girl had spoken wistfully of the vast amounts of knowledge that could seemingly fit inside her mother's head.

Little did she know that, even at such a tender age, she knew more than her peers would ever learn in their entire lives.

_Being close and being clever  
Ain't like being true  
I don't need to,  
I would never hide a thing from you,  
Like some..._

It wasn't a lie, Helen would tell herself. Ashley's father was dead—John hadn't been seen or heard from in years. And even if he were alive, the man Helen had fallen in love with and promised to marry had died over a century ago. He had died right there in the streets of Whitecastle, as completely as the nameless whore whose blood stained the cobblestones.

"Jack" wasn't her father. John was.

_Nothing's gonna harm you. Not while I'm around.  
Nothing's gonna harm you, darling  
Not while I'm around._

She hadn't been able to keep her promise. The most basic of promises, one made from every mother to every daughter. She hadn't kept her little girl from harm. Her baby was dead, gone without a trace. She had been right there—staring, sobbing helplessly, unable to save her daughter further pain and torment.

The strains of a haunting lullaby had echoed in her ears, completely inappropriate, but nevertheless sapping all the strength from her limbs.

_Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while,  
But in time...  
Nothing can harm you  
Not while I'm around..._

In many ways, her daughter had been charmed. The Cabal had twisted her mind and played Ashley like a snake charmer played cobra. But despite all of the horrors visited upon her, and the horrific damage done to her genetic structure, in the end, it hadn't been enough. Ashley had returned to her, and for a single, heartbreaking moment, she saw teary blue eyes and soft blonde hair.

But this time, Ashley made the promise.

_Nothing can harm you  
Not while I'm around._


End file.
